Wednesday, September 1, 2010

UMass, ARA, Town partnership leaps forward!

Today Chancellor Robert Holub signed a strategic agreement with the Town of Amherst and the Amherst Redevelopment Authority to greatly enhance the gateway to UMass, the state's flagship of higher education.

The agreement calls for a conveyance of property formerly knows as "frat row"-- a seedy collection of blighted buildings purchased by the University and demolished a few years ago. The Gateway Project will bring urban renewal to the neighborhood with a mixed used commercial development of higher end student housing and commercial business connecting the downtown with the University.

With the incoming Umass freshman class the largest in history this agreement will go a long way towards keeping Umass an attractive destination for students and faculty as well as boosting the downtown and Amherst's commercial tax base.

NORTHAMPTON - An Amherst man is facing gun and drug charges after he allegedly fired two shots into the air during a fight outside a Florence bar early Sunday.

Alexander A. Nunez, 29, of 760 Riverglade Drive, Apt. G, pleaded innocent Monday in Northampton District Court to possession of a firearm without a permit, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, receiving stolen property over $250, carrying a dangerous weapon and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.

Judge Richard Carey ordered Nunez released on $1,000 cash bail and continued the case for a pretrial conference set for Sept. 10. Carey ordered Nunez to stay away from Silk City Tap Room, 99 Main St., Florence and not to possess any weapons.

Police responded to Silk City Tap Room about 1:50 a.m. Sunday after callers reported shots were fired. A report by Officer Adam Van Buskirk, included in court files, said eight witnesses described Nunez as firing a pistol into the air before driving away. No one was hurt.

Nunez allegedly fired the shots after getting into an argument with some of the witnesses, police said. They identified Nunez as the suspect and provided his license plate number and address, Van Buskirk wrote.

Northampton Police Detective Lt. Kenneth Watson said investigators could not find any shell casings in the area, and there were no reports of falling bullets.

An anonymous caller helped police find Nunez's car at the Florence Heights apartments, 178 Florence Road. Van Buskirk wrote that investigators searched the car and found a loaded silver Jennings Model 380 handgun, with two rounds missing, under the driver's seat.

Meanwhile, Nunez was arrested about 2:17 a.m. by Amherst police after a short foot chase in a wooded area behind Mill Valley Estates.

Nunez told police his brother found the gun at a laundry in Chicopee, Van Buskirk wrote. Investigators are trying to determine who owns the weapon, Watson said.

Amherst police filed charges against Nunez of possessing a class B drug (cocaine) with intent to distribute, trafficking cocaine and a drug law violation in a school zone, though it was unclear when he would be arraigned in court on those charges.